OUR OPINION: 3 stories of locals grabbing the brass ring

Editor's note: Readers often comment that there should be more good news in the paper. While it's true that there's more than enough bad news to go around, on Mondays on the editorial page we will highlight some of the many good-news stories that appear on our pages on a regular basis.

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The Dedham Transcript

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Posted Feb. 24, 2014 at 2:57 AM
Updated Feb 24, 2014 at 12:16 PM

Posted Feb. 24, 2014 at 2:57 AM
Updated Feb 24, 2014 at 12:16 PM

» Social News

Every kid has a dream and, hopefully, most adults, too. But dreams aren’t achieved easily. Each takes dedication, years of persistence and even the most successful will attest that luck was on their side.

Here are three stories of locals who have achieved their dreams of success -- deservedly so.

No. 1: River the Kerry blue terrier, Hanover

Not even Cheryl and Ron Purcell, owners of River, a Kerry blue terrier, thought the prize dog could win a Best of Breed award at the 2014 Westminster Dog Show in New York City. But win she did.

Cheryl, owner of Pooch Paws in Hanover, comes from a long line of breeders and knew River was special from birth because the pup was a bit bigger than her littermates and had personality plus.

Cheryl thought River might have a chance at making it to the most prestigious dog show in the world. In the end, Cheryl was right: chance was what got River there.

The top five dogs in the breed are invited to show at Westminster, and an additional eight are chosen to compete through a lottery system. Fortunately for the Purcells, River’s name was pulled.

With both luck and love on their side, the Purcells showed River on Feb. 11 – coincidentally, her third birthday – and were astonished when the pup took top honors.

Lots of kids grow up with stars in their eyes, but only a special few make it to Hollywood.

Peter Del Vecho, a native of Quincy, did just that.

Del Vecho, 55, a member of Quincy High’s Class of 1976, produced one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. The Disney movie “Frozen” was recently awarded the BAFTA (British version of the Oscar) for best animated feature. It has earned nearly $1 billion worldwide since its release in November, the studio’s biggest hit since “The Lion King.”

Next up for Del Vecho?

The Academy Awards. That song you can’t get out of your head – “Let It Go” – earned an Oscar nod for best original song, and the movie itself was nominated for best animated feature.

We’re certain everyone in Quincy is cheering for the hometown kid who made it big.

No. 3: Casey Sherman, Marshfield

Ask any writer and they’ll readily admit it’s not a job for quitters. Sure, it may sound like a cushy career, sitting around all day, writing, but that doesn’t take into consideration the years of rejection from agents and publishers – and readers – or sitting for months or even years with one book, not knowing if it will ever be published.

Page 2 of 2 - The most certainty writers have is that their work will likely not earn them very much money.

Fortunately, Casey Sherman is no quitter.

He wrote one book, then another, all the while working a full-time job.

Then he co-authored a book, “The Finest Hours,” with Plymouth native Michael Tougias. It was published in 2010 by Scribner.

But Sherman had bigger dreams than letting his story rest on the bookshelf. He thought it would make a great movie.

Unfortunately, Hollywood didn’t agree.

“I first pitched it in 2009 and was rejected at every turn. I was told that because of the financial crisis, it was the worst possible time for this type of movie,” Sherman said.

He didn’t give up.

A few years later, the rights sold and Sherman’s dream came true even bigger than he could have imagined: the film adaptation was written by Oscar nominees Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (“The Fighter”).

He expects either a summer or Christmas 2015 release.

Sherman knows that success like his doesn’t come to those who rest on their laurels. He’s currently at work on a couple of other projects, including one about the Boston Marathon bombing.